A Chance Encounter
by KuramasGal99
Summary: One Shot: Team seven is on a C-ranked mission to capture a large group of bandits that have been terrorizing local villages, but someone has beaten them to it. Who is this mysterious man and what part does he play in Naruto's past?


AN: Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoy this One shot! This is another idea I had shortly after starting A Secret Past Revealed but it played out more like a one shot than an actual story, so I have been working on this when I had some time. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: This story is mine, the characters and their worlds are not, they belong to their original creators only!

A Chance Encounter

Team seven moved swiftly through the trees. The filtered light of the full moon lighting their way. "Sakura, location?" Kakashi asked quietly over the communicator.

"Two klicks south-south east from our current location according to the intel Kakashi-sensei." She replied through her mic.

"Good. Naruto, Sasuke make sure to keep formation and watch me for commands. We are looking at a minimum of fifty bandits, but without an accurate count there is no way to know for sure. We also don't know if any missing-nin have joined up with them or not so no flying of the deep end….and that means you Naruto."

"Roger."

" _Yes_ sensei."

After a few minutes Kakashi gave them the signal to slow down. They were rapidly approaching the location their intel had indicated was the most likely location for the bandits camp. As they approached the edge of the tree line Kakashi gave the signal to halt. Before them stretched a large field dotted with small one man tents and small watch fires. The camp was eerily silent as Kakashi leapt the last couple of meters to get a better view. The sight that greeted him was like one right out of the third war. The bodies of the bandits lay strewn everywhere. Thier weapons held by unmoving arms. Only the breeze and the dance of the camp fires showed that there was still life here and that this wasn't some painting of war.

The slight rustling of the tree to his left was his first indication that at least one of his genin had not listened to him.

"Whoa! Kakashi-sensei what happened?!" Naruto asked excitedly over the communicator.

"Looks like someone got here before us dobe." Sasuke replied.

"Shut up! I didn't ask you now did I?!" Naruto growled back.

"K-Kakashi-sensei….are they dead?" Sakura asked, tuning out the boys bickering.

"Will you two knock it off!" Kakashi growled at the two boys before answering Sakura. "I don't know Sakura, it looks like it but I can't say from here."

Once the genin had quieted down again Kakashi carefully scanned the camp using both is regular eye and his sharingan, just in case of an attack. It only took him a moment to locate the figure standing in the middle of the camp. The figures back was to him but he guessed him to be a male due to the set of the shoulders and the old style hakima he was wearing. The place he was standing was clear of bodies. The nearest bodies were lying in a circle like formation about two meters around where he stood. His sword was still drawn and was currently being held loosely in his right hand and pointed towards the ground and glinted silver in the moonlight. His left hand seemed to be positioned on the sheath of the sword as if he had been interrupted in his preparation to put the weapon away. Kakashi could not see any weapons pouches visible which meant that this man was most likely a swordsman or samurai of some type. The thing that made Kakashi hesitate the most was the feeling of power coming off of the lone figure and his long hair that was tied in back at the nape of the neck that shown blood red in the moonlight. It had been thirteen years since he had seen hair that color, and only one clan in the history of the elemental nations was famous for that color. ' _It can't be…'_ He thought to himself.

"Hey who's that?" Naruto chimed in over the communicator causing Kakashi to give the signal for radio silence.

The red haired man turned slightly, revealing his profile to the shinobi in the trees. His eyes glinted like steel as he quietly assess the situation. With a flick of his wrist he carefully sheathed his sword, his eyes never leaving the tree line. "Come out Shinobi-dono. I can feel you and your squad there in the trees. There is no use in hiding. I am not your enemy as long as you're not mine." He called out in a firm, authoritative voice.

Kakashi gave the signal for the genin to hold their positions before revealing himself, taking care to keep a good distance from the swordsman as he did so. "It seems you had a busy night." He said casually as he took a few steps forward into the camp and discreetly checked one of the bandits for vitals.

The red haired man turned fully towards Kakashi, a surprised look transforming his face from a stern, serious warrior into that of someone much more approachable. "Oro?" He said quietly, but Kakashi still caught the softly spoken phrase. His eyes snapped up warily as he carefully scrutinized the man as he took a single step towards him. He could hear the tree's behind him rustle ever so slightly as his genin moved slightly, most likely trying to see what was going on below them.

The red haired man let out a long breath after a moment. "It is you isn't it Kakashi Hatake-dono?" He asked, his voice having lost the steel edge it had held moments before.

Kakashi could hear the trees rustle a bit more. He sighed to himself a bit as he knew it was mostly Naruto getting antsy. That kid could be too curious for his own good sometimes. "Maybe." He replied, deciding to be a bit vague for the moment, although the ghost of a memory was trying to surface. "Who are you? Should I know you?"

The red haired man let out a quiet chuckle. "Aa. It has been a very long time since I saw you last. You were a newly minted genin under Minato-dono when I met you. I go by Kenshin Himura now." He said as he took another step forward, not missing the shocked look on Kakashi's face. Of course he would recognize the name Kenshin Himura, it was listed in every bingo book in the elemental nations.

Kenshin Himura, Hitokiri Battousai

S ranked unaffiliated samurai

Fighting style: Known user of the HIten Mitsurugi Ryu and a battojutsu specialist

Appearance: Red hair, X shaped scar on left cheek, approximately 158 cm tall

It was a real testament to his abilities for a samurai to be listed in the shinobi's bingo book.

Kakashi tensed and stood up from his crouched position next to the bandit. His eyes narrowing dangerously at the name that his man Kenshin claimed was his.

Kenshin stopped in his slow advance. He placed his hands up in a placating manner as he chuckled a bit at Kakashi's reaction. "Aa. I supposed it was too much for me to hope you would recognize me by just my first name and who I look like, that it was." He said, his voice sounding friendly enough. "I suppose Kushina-neesan would have had a fit to see us like this. I can practically hear her yelling at us for being idiots, that I can. Remember that frying pan she used on us that one time?" He asked as he rubbed at the back of his head absentmindedly. "I still have nightmares about that night and it's been what….sixteen, seventeen years and a war since then?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the red haired man in front of him. "I-It's not possible…..I thought you died during the third war…."

"Nee-san thought that was for the best. After the fall of Uzu during the second war and how the members of our clan were being hunted both nee-san and Minato-dono advised me to make a new life for myself with a new name. So when I left after that visit to Konoha with Hiko-shisho I changed my name." Kenshin replied as his eyes traveled up to the trees as the rustling came again. "It seems your team is a bit impatient, that they are. Why don't you call them out? You know I am no enemy of Konoha, at least as long as I am not attacked first."

"I need to know why you're here and what happened first." Kakashi asked getting down to business. There was another, louder rustle in the trees behind him and he could have sworn that he heard an 'OW!' and a bunch of shushing.

Kenshin fought a grin as he too heard it. It was becoming apparent that Kakashi was either leading a genin team or young chunin by the lack of discipline being shown by the hiding shinobi. "Well, after the war I became a rurouni and wandered the land helping the weak and less fortunate rebuild their lives to atone for the deaths that I caused during the war. I arrived in the small village of Ouhira, about four klicks north east of here four days ago and they were having trouble with bandits. Several of the villagers were severely injured in the last raid, which was two days prior to my arrival. It took me some time to find their camp but, I came here to put an end to the violence. As you know from the man you checked that they aren't dead. I incapacitated them with plans to secure them and turn them into the local authorities."

"How did you incapacitate them?" Kakashi asked curiously. When he had first spotted Kenshin he had his sword drawn.

"My sword." Kenshin replied as he pulled his sheathed sword out from the waist of his hakima and tossed it to Kakashi for inspection. "It is a sword that I had especially made. It's a sakabatou, a reverse blade sword. Besides some broken or bruised ribs and a few concussions, every man you see here should live to pay for their crimes." He said as Kakashi drew the sword and checked it for himself. Not a drop of blood could be found on the polished metal.

Once the sword was re-sheathed he tossed it back to Kenshin. Now he was at a loss as of what to do. He could feel the impatience practically radiating from his genin, but if this man were to find out exactly who was on his squad things could get out of control quickly. Kenshin was from a clan that was fiercely loyal to their own and Naruto was no exception to that rule.

Naruto shifted anxiously for the dozenth time since Kakashi had dropped down and engaged the strange red haired man know as Kenshin in conversation. "Come _on_!" He whined quietly. "Why doesn't he let us come down! I mean the guy even let him inspect his sword for crying out loud! He is obviously not an enemy!" He growled.

"If you don't shut up I will hit you again!" Sakura hissed. "We are supposed to be quiet!"

"The two of you are making enough noise to alert a whole garrison with your antics." Sasuke hissed.

"Like you would know!" Naruto growled at him. He shifted again before letting out a frustrated growl. "Screw this, I'm going down there."

"No you're not!" Sakura hissed as she grabbed the back of his jacket causing him to lose his balance and crash into her and sending both of them falling back and crashing into Sasuke.

"Damnit Dobe! How are you supposed to be a shinobi if you can't even keep your balance!" Sasuke hissed as he tried to push the other two off of him. As they were struggling to right themselves there was a loud crack as the branch that they were all on broke. With a squeal from Sakura and a bunch of cursing from both Naruto and Sasuke, they fell into the bushes below them with a loud crash.

Both Kakashi and Kenshin we startled by the loud crash and looked with concern at the bushes as they shook as the three genin struggled to detangle themselves. Cursing followed by growled comments like 'Get _OFF_ of me dobe!' and 'Teme I _AM_ off of you!' and 'Now look at what you did you moron!' could be heard coming from the bushes as the genin failed at keeping their voices low.

"Are they alright?" Kenshin asked. He was a bit concerned as that had been quite the fall out of the tree's, even if the sounds of the bickering currently going on indicated that they were not seriously hurt.

Kakashi let out a long suffering sigh before he answered. "Yeah….I'm sure they're fine. This isn't the first time that this is has happened after all."

The corner of Kenshin's mouth twitched a bit in amusement at that comment. "So I take it you have a squad of genin with you then?"

Kakashi turned back to him, and eyed him for a moment before answering. "Yeah, newly minted genin too. This is only their second C-ranked mission." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I really did believe you were dead Kenshin. I hope you believe that." He said as he turned and walked over to the bushes to extract the bickering genin.

Kenshin was curious at the reason for that last comment. "Of course. Your surprise at my identity was genuine, that it was. If you had believed I was alive, you would not have been surprised like that." He replied as he watched the silver haired jonin dig through the bushes and extract two boys by their ankles, scolding them sternly as he did so. The boys, who looked like they were about thirteen, were quickly followed by a pink haired girl of the same age. One of the boys, he observed, had on a blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back and black hair while the looks of the other boy nearly stopped his heart. He had on the most garish orange outfit he had ever seen, but it wasn't the clothes that gave Kenshin pause, it was his coloring. His bright blonde spiky hair and azure blue of his eyes were nearly identical to Minato-dono's own looks. It was the shape of the boys face and eyes was what nearly stopped him dead in his tracks. There was no mistaking that face , only one with _her_ blood in their veins would have that face.

"Kakashi-dono….what….what is his name?" Kenshin asked as he stepped forward a bit, which drew everyone's attention to him.

"Who….Sasuke-kun's?" The pink girl asked confused.

Kenshin locked his eyes with Kakashi for a moment. " _What..is..his..name_?" He asked again, his voice firm. "Is...is he?" He tried to ask but the words failed him as he once again stared at the blonde boy.

Naruto looked at the man named Kenshin nervously. The man was demanding to know his name and Kakashi-sensei wasn't telling him for some reason. The man was staring at him strangely too, almost like he was looking at a ghost or something. At least it was better than the stares a lot of the villagers gave him, even if it was kinda weird.

After another moment of this strange silence Naruto's energetic nature couldn't take it any more and he hopped forward a bit. "I don't know what you want with me but my name is Naruto Uzumaki! I am going to be Hokage one day so if you want to start a fight you better say so now so I can show you just how strong I am, y'know!" He barked at Kenshin, as he pointed at him to emphasise his point.

Kenshin's eyes widened a bit before he looked away. A tense silence fell over the group, which confused all three of the genin. Usually Naruto's out bursts either earned him a scolding of some sort or outright laughter from anyone he decided to call out. Even Kakashi-sensei was quiet as he just stood there. Sasuke and Sakura both looked at eachother for a moment to see if the other understood what was going on, but with a slight shrug and a shake of a head they both realized that the only ones that knew why this was happening was the two adults because even Naruto was looking between the two adults utterly confused.

Kenshin, whose face was hidden from view by his long red bangs, broke the silence moments later. "Naruto….Uzumaki?" He seemed to ask in a low voice. "Then...you really are their son."

Naruto perked up at this. "Their son? Does that mean you knew my parents?" Naruto asked eagerly as he moved to step forward but was stopped by Kakashi as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Can you...tell me who they were?"

Kenshin's head snapped up at this. "You weren't told who your parents were?" He asked, his shock clearly evident in his voice.

"No, the old man would never tell me when I asked. Said that knowing wouldn't bring back the dead..." Naruto replied quietly.

"He was partially right Naruto-kun." Kenshin said as he looked sadly at the young blonde shinobi. "It won't bring them back but still, to know who they were, their history. It makes you who you are. I am sure your mother would have…"

"That's enough!" Kakashi said sternly, effectively cutting off Kenshin's explanation. "It's….not something that he is allowed to know." He said his voice taking on a more regretful tone.

"What?!" Kenshin all but snarled at him.

Naruto looked up at his sensei, his shock at his words clearly evident. "I'm not allowed to know?" He asked quietly, his shocked look slowly turning to a look of pain. "Then you knew them too?!" He growled out, his voice breaking as his emotions started to churn. He roughly pulled himself out of Kakashi's grip as he looked up at him, his breath becoming more and more ragged as his mind tried to process everything going on. "YOU KNEW THEM DIDN'T YOU!" He yelled as he backed away from him. "WHY?! WHY CAN'T I KNOW ABOUT THEM?!" He asked as tears started to form.

"It was forbidden by Sandaime-sama." Kakashi said simply as he kept his eyes trained to the ground. He stood there almost frozen as guilt washed over him. Guilt at not being there when his sensei and his wife needed him most. As far as he was concerned Naruto had every right to be angry with him, he had failed him too after all.

"Forbidden?!" Kenshin growled out, his anger slowly rising. "Since when is it forbidden to tell a child about their family?! Is it the same reason that Sandaime- _dono_ lied to me all those years ago?!"

Naruto stood there fighting back his tears as he looked at his sensei, part of him hoping that he would deny knowing them, deny that he would willingly not tell him about the two people that he wanted to know about the most in the world, deny that the old man would be so heartless as to place such orders into effect. But he knew better. The answers were clearly written in Kakashi's body language. He knew but would not tell, just like everyone knew about the Kyuubi but would not tell him why he was hated as a child. He couldn't take anymore, the tears started flowing freely down his face as he spoke. "It's the same isn't it?" He choked out as he absentmindedly clutched at his stomach. "The same reason all the adults hate me...the reason why I have been alone my whole life?"

"It was to protect you and that is all I can say Naruto….I'm sorry." Kakashi replied.

Kenshin had heard enough, his blood was roaring in his ears as his anger surged. He gripped his sheathed sword tightly as he fought to control himself. "I see now." He said, his words as hard and cold as steel in his anger. "He was given his mother's burden, why else all the secrecy? But if what Naruto-kun says is true about the adults in you village, then it seems that his secret isn't so well kept _is_ it?" He asked as he moved forward towards both Kakashi and Naruto. " Although, to place a burden like that upon a child is bad enough but to then deny that child at every turn the truth as well…..is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. You should be ashamed of yourself Kakashi, for not only allowing that to happen, but for dishonoring them as well." He said as he stopped a few meters away. "I don't know what angers me the most with all of this. The fact that they treated you like _family_ and yet you let Naruto grow up alone or the fact that I was lied to about all this and denied the knowledge of his very _existence_!"

Kakashi's head snapped up, his anger flaring. "You go too far Kenshin!" He growled. "Revealing this information to him is considered _treason_!"

Kenshin's KI flaired as his anger broke through the tight hold he had held over it. The sheer potency of it causing the genin to stumble back as if struck. "For you maybe!" He roared as he closed the remaining distance between himself and Kakashi. His violet eyes snapping fire as he looked up into the dark eyes of the taller man. "I do not answer to your _Hokage_. Your laws do not apply to me. I do not trade in your villages secrets when I speak of Naruto's parents nor his burden. When I speak of them I am speaking of _CLAN_ matters. Matters that neither you nor your Hokage nor any kage in the elemental nations have a say in! His burden has been a burden of _OUR CLAN_ for generations now, so _do..not..tell..me_ what I can or cannot say to or in front of him!"

"She married outside of the clan! You don't have those rights to him!" Kakashi snapped back.

"Yet he carries the Uzumaki name! That alone would stand in any court in any village! I know for a fact it would be more than enough evidence for any of our enemies to kill him! Or do you naively believe that you could argue the fact that Uzumaki was his mother's clan and not his father's and they would spare his life?!" He barked back.

Naruto's head spun as he listened to Kenshin and Kakashi argue. Taking a hesitant step forward he asked the most pressing question on his mind at the moment. "I..I'm part of a clan?" He asked. At his question the two angry adults seemed to stand down from their verbal fight.

Stepping back a bit Kenshin partially turned towards him as he kept a wary eye on Kakashi. "Yes you are. Unfortunately our clan has been all but exterminated over the years since the second war. Those few that remain are mostly those who do not know that they are of Uzumaki blood or had taken an alliance to survive...like me."

"B-but why? Why would our clan be hunted like that?" Naruto asked confused.

"Fear, plain and simple." Kenshin replied. "Our clan excelled in fuinjutsu and kenjutsu and was feared for it. Our village, Uzushiogakure was attacked and obliterated by three of the five great nations during the second war because of that fear. Konoha was our sister village, built by our cousins the Senju, that was one of the reasons why your mother survived. The rest of the survivors were either lucky enough to have gotten away, or had been out of the village at the time. Me included."

It took a moment for Naruto to digest the new information that Kenshin was giving him. But after a moment he continued. "My mom...you really knew her?" He asked, hopeful that this man, who seemed to know so much about the family he was denied, would finally tell him about his parents.

Kenshin turned fully towards him and took the few steps it took to bring him too his side. "Yes I knew her." He said, his face turning sad as he spoke. "She was a wonderful person. So full of life too. She was strong willed and determined with a temper as fiery as her hair, but she loved those precious to her with all her heart, that she did." He said as he studied the boy before him. "You have her face….and her determination I bet, but not her hair." He said with a sad smile as he reached up and played with a spiky blonde lock for a moment. "She was precious to me Naruto-kun. She was the last of my precious people that survived Uzu. Her name was Kushina and she...she was my precious nee-san."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Your….nee-san?" He asked in all but a whisper.

"Yes Naruto-kun, she was my nee-san. And if I had know that you had lived….if Sandaime-dono hadn't told me that you had died with her…." He said, losing his words as his emotions overcame him.

Naruto stared up at him, fresh tears coursing down his face as the reality of the situation came into focus for him. Not only had the old man withheld the identities of his parents from him, but had outright _lied_ to him, to _both_ of them. The old man had _known_ that his mother's younger brother, his ji-san, was alive and chose, _CHOSE_ , to let him believe he had died with his mother at birth. "Then...then you….your my…" Naruto's words stumbled to a halt as he looked up at Kenshin. Afraid to finish the question he wanted to ask.

Kenshin rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder, offering what comfort he could. "Yes, Naruto-kun. I am you ji-san. And no one, and I mean _NO ONE_ , can change that or take it away from you, not anymore."

Kakashi watched as Naruto took this information in. If he was honest with himself Naruto deserved to know the truth, consequences be damned. With a sigh he turned to the other two genin who were watching the scene before them with wary confusion. "Come on you two, let's start getting these bandits secured before they start coming around." He said as he moved away.

"Yeah, alright." Sasuke said as he moved to follow Kakashi. Honestly he was kinda happy for his teammate, and maybe just a little jealous too.

"Uhh...yeah sure Kakashi-sensei." Sakura replied hesitantly. "What about Naruto?"

Kakashi looked over at him and watched for a moment as Kenshin talked to him in a low, calm voice. "Leave him be for now. He'll catch up in a bit." He said as he turned away again.

True to his prediction both Naruto and Kenshin were seen tieing up bandits a few minutes later. Naruto, for his part, seemed alright as he worked, although he stayed near Kenshin and the two talked as they worked. Once all they had finished Kenshin had produced a mild tranquilizer to help keep the bandits subdued while they were brought in to the local authorities and was quickly administered to them with the help of Naruto's shadow clones. Then it was just a matter of piling them up in a few of the wagons that the bandits had stolen and move them.

Of course Naruto wasn't having any luck with any of the wagons as they were horse drawn wagons stolen from local farmers and merchants and the horse's would shy away from him whenever he got too close. The old bay mare that Kenshin was leading had even tried to take a chunk out of him at one point, even though she had been doing nothing but lipping at Kenshin's Kimono looking for treats prior to his approach. After that Naruto had been assigned as rear guard to the three wagons full of tranquilized prisoners for the remainder of the mission.

By dawn they had reached the village that had requested for the Konoha Shinobi's help and had successfully turned over the men to them. They also gave them directions to the bandits camp so that the stolen goods could be recovered as well. Once that was done they moved out of the village, Kenshin in tow at Naruto's insistence, and made camp so that they could rest. Kakashi, knowing Naruto wanted to get as much information as he could on the family he never knew, announced that since they were done and the mission was a success they would not leave for Konoha until the next morning.

So now he found himself sitting on one side of the camp, looking over the small cookfire, watching Naruto talk animatedly with Kenshin as they sat on the other side. It had been like this all afternoon too. Naruto stuck to Kenshin like glue, telling him stories about their missions, asking questions and just taking in all the attention that Kenshin would give him. Sakura and Sasuke had even been drawn into Kenshin's stories as they were quite entertaining. There was one characteristic of the Uzumaki that no one ever really gave them credit for and that was charisma. They, as a general rule it seemed, had it in spades.

Today had been one that Kenshin himself had never thought he would see again, an afternoon with _family_. So, when he had awoken from a nap at close to noon he had decided to make the most of it. He had taken Naruto and shown him some basic hunting skills, mainly how to track and snare rabbits, and what edible plants and roots were best. Now their current project, a rabbit stew made with the items found, sat over the fire and was bubbling away. He had told him, and the other two genin too as they had been drawn over to the food prep out curiosity, about Uzu and some funny stories about some of their dead relatives, including his nee-san.

Kenshin, for his part, was currently enjoying Naruto's enthusiastic storytelling. Even if details were being blown way out of proportion, he was just so into it that it was nearly impossible not to be amused. He let out a soft chuckle as Naruto described the horrors of Tora the cat, finding the sympathetic groaning of his two teammates very amusing as well. "If Tora's owner really is like that then I feel for the poor cat, that I do." He said with a bit of sympathy for the animal in question. "Now, I do believe that the stew is done." He said as he gave it a good stir. Once satisfied with the looks of the meal he quickly dished it out. The stew was very good if he did say so himself, and everyone else seemed to like it as well. And that is how the night went on. They traded stories, both mythical ones and real. Kenshin even managed to get Sasuke to come out of his shell a bit to add in his two ryo to a few of the stories that Naruto told, much to Kakashi's surprise.

It was just past moonset and dawn would be approaching soon as Kenshin quietly gathered his few belongings. The camp was quiet except for the sounds of the three sleeping genin. Kakashi soundlessly jumped down from the tree where he had been keeping watch and approached him.

"I take it you're leaving?" He asked.

"Yes. It's for the best, that it is. I am not foolish enough to believe that Sandaime-dono would welcome me into the village, and I am nothing but a wanderer now. A rurouni without a home. There are people out there that cannot afford to hire shinobi that need help, so I will continue as I was, and help those that I can." He said as he sadly looked over at where Naruto lay sprawled in his blankets. "He will be fine without me anyway. He is strong and determined. I expect you to take good care of him and train him well." He said as he looked back at Kakashi for a moment before walking around the edge of the camp to place a letter and a scroll in Naruto's pack.

"That is why the Sandaime entrusted him to me." Kakashi stated simply as he watched Kenshin tuck the items away in Naruto's pack.

"Good, because if I hear otherwise you will answer to me and our next meeting will not be a friendly one." Kenshin stated as he gave Kakashi a stern look. "Now, I must leave so I can get some distance behind me before he gets up. Good bye Kakashi." He said with a small bow and left the camp.

Kakashi watched him go with a sigh, knowing that things were probably going to get complicated when Naruto awoke.

It was barely two hours latter, the sun not quite peeking above the horizon and the camp was in an uproar, well more specifically Naruto was in a uproar. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU LET HIM LEAVE?!" He yelled as he was frantically gathering up his blankets, ready to pack up and chase after Kenshin himself if he had too.

"It was his choice. You're a shinobi Naruto and he isn't. Do you really think there would be a place for him in Konoha?" Kakashi asked as he tried to get Naruto to calm down and think.

"OF COURSE THERE IS A PLACE FOR HIM!" Naruto repled angrily.

Kakashi sighed at his students stubborn attitude, he really didn't understand that there was nothing in Konoha for Kenshin except Naruto. He would be treated as a criminal because of his status in the bingo book, but that was something he didn't really want to have to explain to him. Not with his temper roaring like it was anyway. "Look, you need to calm down Naruto. He had his reasons for leaving. He did leave you something, he placed it in your pack before he left so why don't you see what it is ok?"

With a growl Naruto turned, moved to his pack and quickly pulled out a small scroll and a letter. Eyeing Kakashi for a moment as he opened the letter, he then began reading it.

 _Naruto,_

 _I know that my leaving will be hard for you, especially after we just found each other, but it is for the best. It was not a decision that I made lightly, so believe me when I say that this is hard for me too. I am not shinobi Naruto, as much as I wish it, there would be nothing for me in Konoha. Out here, as a rurouni, I can help people. Protect those who need it but can't afford the high cost of hiring shinobi. My place is out here, helping where I can. Also, you are now a genin, which means that it is time for you to find your place in this world of ours, you are no longer looked at as a child, at least by Uzumaki tradition, so I have faith that you will do just fine on your own._

 _Do not think for a moment that I will forget about you either. You are my precious oi-kun. The only family I have left in this world. I will keep in touch so you know I am alive and well so do not worry, this isn't the last time you will hear from me. I will also be keeping tabs on you too so don't you slack off in your training. I expect you will do great things Naruto, as you truly are your father's son, and he was a great man._

 _The scroll that I left you is a special type of storage scroll. It was made with a blood seal and only me and those closely related to me will be able to open it. Just place a drop of blood on the seal and activate the seal. I am sure Kakashi will show you how if you don't already know. Inside you will find a few items from my past that I wish to pass along to you. I left a letter in there describing them for you as well._

 _Remember to take care of yourself and work hard. I cannot begin to tell you how very proud of you I am. You are growing into a fine young man and I am sure that the spirits of your parents are resting easily knowing that you are strong enough to withstand anything thrown your way._

 _K_

* * *

15 years later

Naruto stood on the roof of the Hokage Tower and looked down over the crowd as they screamed and cheered for him. In the very front the rookie 9 and their families could be seen waving up at him with his own wife, Hinata, and their two kids standing right in the center next to Sakura and her daughter. He smiled down at them, giving them a thumbs up before waving to the crowd. As he waved, his robes blew about in the breeze revealing his daisho, the hilts of his wakizashi and katana visible in all their finely crafted glory.

As he stepped back from the edge, taking the hat off so he could talk to Kakashi easier a flash of red caught his eye. Discreetly looking over he spotted a couple standing back from the crowd resting in the shade of one of the buildings. A dark haired boy with a bokken strapped to his back of about 12 broke away from the crowd and ran over to the couple, his high ponytail flying behind him. The woman, her hair equally as dark, started talking to him. A moment later, the other figure, stepped forward from the thick shadows. His red hair shown in the afternoon sun and he was watching him with a smile on his face.

Naruto turned, careful not to take his eyes off of the man below, and took a step towards the edge again. He smiled down at the man and mouthed 'How did I do?'

The red haired mans smile grew as he mouthed back 'better than I could have hoped. I am proud of you'. The dark haired woman, noticing the exchange, looked up and waved, followed by the boy. Then the three of them bowed low to him and turned to leave, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the building around the square.

"Do you want me to have ANBU detain them?" Kakashi asked from his side, he too having caught the exchange.

"No, let them go." Naruto said as he turned, a smile on his face. "He has his own life and I have mine."


End file.
